I know Go players who really enjoy the game and also like doing crossword puzzles, Sudoku or similar puzzles. Yet for some reason they screw up their face at the idea of solving ‘Go problems’. Why?

I've wondered this, too. Part of the problem, I think, is that the capture rule and the "two eyes alive" heuristic make perfect sense if you're playing the whole game, but are surprisingly hard to teach someone if they're only going to solve a go problem.

Maybe problems to capture certain stones on smaller boards could be interesting for non-players?

You know, I think someone posted on the forum a set of 4x4 problems that Japanese pros were using to teach the game to kids - Yonro no Go, or something.

I think there would be more future in transforming go problems into the mechanics for a minigame.

It's a "new" trend and it's been used in multiple indie games.

Have a hero character of some kind walk around in some kind of adventure land and finding himself in random encounters that inevitably end up with someone or something trying to disembowel him. Then turn the fight into simple but time limited go problems. Smaller enemies present simpler problems; larger enemies, harder problems. Human enemies might present small empty boards with different amounts of handicap and the final boss might be a 19x19 empty board.

When you place a wrong stone in a non-game the problem, you lose one health point. Lose them all and you die. Buy hp potions at the village, etc.

If I was twenty years younger I'd code this thing and become rich and famous.

You could have the obligatory unbeatable first boss.

It would be a group with 2 eyes, but you have unlimited moves.

Once you completely surround the group and it still doesnt die someone comes in to save you and explains that it's too late the boss is unkillable.

You could have the obligatory unbeatable first boss.

It would be a group with 2 eyes, but you have unlimited moves.

Once you completely surround the group and it still doesnt die someone comes in to save you and explains that it's too late the boss is unkillable.


There is a major game going to be released from the indie scene by jonathan blow. The game is mainly a puzzle game and as you advance you learn new ways to solve very specifics problems, by attaining new insights. (The puzzles have certain quirks from section to section, but its mostly a learning experience).

When i saw it I could totally imagine 100% of the puzzles being go problems.
Big disclaimer: Jonathan blow sat down building these problems every single day for years. Although it might be easier to devise certain problems, from a design perspective the challenge is that they are effective : that the problem has the exact difficulty and it shows exactly a specific idea or point the user has to learn. It must have no repetition, low frustration, good learning curve.

Is this applicable to Go? Absolutely.
Would this help in creating new Go players? If mainstreaming go is possible, i believe this is a necessary step.

What is required to build a game like this? A good game designer working on it professionally for several months to a year.

Always tried to get my brother to do this, but i am still unsuccessful. Maybe after he publishes his game on steam and has to look for something new to work with.

This requires funding.

There is a major game going to be released from the indie scene by jonathan blow. The game is mainly a puzzle game and as you advance you learn new ways to solve very specifics problems, by attaining new insights. (The puzzles have certain quirks from section to section, but its mostly a learning experience).

When i saw it I could totally imagine 100% of the puzzles being go problems.
Big disclaimer: Jonathan blow sat down building these problems every single day for years. Although it might be easier to devise certain problems, from a design perspective the challenge is that they are effective : that the problem has the exact difficulty and it shows exactly a specific idea or point the user has to learn. It must have no repetition, low frustration, good learning curve.

Is this applicable to Go? Absolutely.
Would this help in creating new Go players? If mainstreaming go is possible, i believe this is a necessary step.

What is required to build a game like this? A good game designer working on it professionally for several months to a year.

Always tried to get my brother to do this, but i am still unsuccessful. Maybe after he publishes his game on steam and has to look for something new to work with.

This requires funding.